


it's a long way forward so trust in me

by aloneintherain



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: All sides of the love square, Carrying, F/M, Fluff, Identity Reveal, Mutual Pining, Strength Kink, Strong Marinette Dupain-Cheng, pining adrien agreste
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-13
Updated: 2018-05-13
Packaged: 2019-05-06 04:22:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14633999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aloneintherain/pseuds/aloneintherain
Summary: “You’re not the only strong one around here, Chat,” Marinette said. She looked a little winded, but she wasn’t struggling to hold him up.This close up, he could see the freckles on the bridge of her nose. He could see how that smug smile lit up her eyes. He could feel the strain of her arms—and wow, okay, he really wasn’t the only person around here with muscles.Six times Marinette carried Adrien (plus one time he carried her).





	it's a long way forward so trust in me

**Author's Note:**

> Why is it 6+1 instead of the classic 5+1? Because I ended up getting caught up in cute LadyNoir and accidentally wrote a scene that wasn’t supposed to be here, but I ended up liking it too much to delete it. Sorry about that.
> 
> Warnings for a mildly serious injury, but that’s about it.

 

 

1.

 

The akuma, Beauty Spot, attacked in the middle of a photo shoot. She was a rejected model, furious with the entire beauty industry, and tore through the studio without mercy, warping the walls and melting every person she came across.

She crashed through a wall with a spray of rubble and a cloud of dust. “True beauty lies within!”

The staff in the studio ran for the exits. Some people escaped. Others were reduced to puddles with a wave of Beauty Spot’s hand.

The Gorilla braced himself in front of Adrien. He inched to the side, but the Gorilla threw out an arm, caging him in. The wall to their right warped and bent, threatening to crumbling beneath its own weight.

Beauty Spot laughed and threw out a hand. The Gorilla melted into a flesh-coloured puddle. Adrien stared down at it, horrified.

Her eyes settled on him. “Adrien Agreste,” she said. “Teen supermodel. Your career was handed to you. Do you have any idea—”

The wall behind him gave way. Before Adrien could run, before he could call for Plagg to transform him, he was scooped up and carried out of harm’s way.

Adrien stared up at Ladybug. Her teeth were bared at the akuma like a threatened animal, but her body was solid and warm around him. When he shifted, her nose brushed against his cheek.

“You’re here,” Adrien said in a near-whisper.

Ladybug dropped the feral expression and brought out a familiar smile—the smile she gave panicked civilians, and scared kids, and Chat Noir on cold nights, when his thoughts soured and it felt like all the hope had been leeched from the world. It was the smile that lit him up from the inside and warmed him right to his toes.

And then their eyes met and her arms slackened. She almost dropped him.

She tightened her grip a moment later, clutching him tight to her chest. His face was shoved against the underside of her chin. Her pigtail tickled his ear.

Adrien was sure he was bright red. Ladybug wasn't much better—for some reason, there was a pink hue to her cheeks.

“Adrien,” Ladybug said. “What are you doing here?”

“I was working,” Adrien said.

“Right. Because this is a modelling agency. And you’re a model. Yes. Of course.”

Ladybug ducked her head. Her face was, essentially, buried in Adrien’s hair. Adrien wanted to stay like that forever, clasped in her strong arms, pressed against her, enjoying the warmth of her body. It was almost like they were hugging. Or cuddling.

Cuddling. With Ladybug. Adrien felt as though he was melting into a puddle, the way the Gorilla had a few minutes earlier.

Ladybug pulled her face out of his hair and looked down at him again. Adrien’s breath caught in his throat. There was that smile again.

“You smell like hairspray,” she said.

“That would be because I’m covered hairspray.” Adrien had to bite his lip to stop himself from adding, _My lady._

Her nose wrinkled, but she was still smiling. Joking. She was joking with him, while he was in her arms, and she was doing that cute head tilt she often did when she teased Chat Noir. “Too much hairspray, I think. How is your hair still so soft?”

Ladybug thought his hair was soft. Ladybug thought his hair was soft, because her face had been pressed into it.

“Excuse me,” said Beauty Spot loudly. “I am in the middle of dismantling the beauty industry here. Don’t ignore me.”

Adrien had forgotten about the akuma. Apparently, so had Ladybug. She cleared her throat and, disappointingly, set him down on his feet.

“Can you run?” she asked. Adrien nodded, even if his legs felt shaky.

“Not so fast, pretty boy,” said Beauty Spot. She pointed a rolled up envelope at him. Her rejection letter. “I can’t let you get away with that beautiful face.”

“You’re not touching that beautiful face,” Ladybug said.

“Ladybug,” Adrien said.

Ladybug jumped and turned to look at him with big eyes. “Sorry. I shouldn’t have—”

If Adrien thought too hard about Ladybug calling his face beautiful, even if it was an echo of Beauty Spot’s words, then he thought he might have exploded. He shook his head to clear it and said, “The akuma. It’s probably in the letter she’s holding.”

“Right.” Ladybug unhooked her yo-yo and spun it around until it blurred into a red circle. “Get out of here. Find somewhere safe to hide. I’ll hold her off.”

Adrien would hinder more than help in his civilian identity, so he bolted around the slick puddles of his coworkers and out of the door. Behind him, Beauty Spot shrieked as Ladybug stopped her from chasing after him.

He almost wished the akuma would, just so Ladybug could swoop in and carry him out of danger again.

He ducked around a deserted corner and opened up his shirt pocket. Plagg zipped into the air, clutching at his stomach and laughing.

“That was pathetic.”

Adrien rubbed at his warm cheeks. “Shut up.”

Plagg clasped his hands beneath his chin and adopted a high-pitched voice. “Oh, Ladybug! Hold me tighter!”

Adrien crossed his arms over his chest. “I didn’t say anything like that.”

Plagg snickered. “You were thinking it, though.”

“We have to get in there and help Ladybug—are you going to transform me or not? Claws out.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

 

2.

 

Adrien flexed and grinned toothily. “How was that, princess? It’s alright if you’re overwhelmed. Plenty of people are left speechless when they see me in action.”

Marinette laughed, pushing at his shoulders. “I don’t think it’s your _muscles_ that leave people speechless, Chat.”

Adrien dropped his arms. She laughed again at his exaggerated pout. It was better than that tight, stressed look from earlier. Akumas may have been common-place in Paris these days, but there were still frightening. If he could allivate someone’s fear, especially if that someone was a close friend, then he would, even if it was just by distracting them until they calmed down.

“Hey, I’m not just a pretty face,” Adrien said, drawing his arms back up and flexing. “These muscles are the real deal.”

“Uh huh,” she said.

“I am so strong,” Adrien continued, not really paying attention to what he was saying. It was so much easier to talk and flaunt and be silly when he was Chat Noir, especially when he was around people he knew and felt safe around, like Marinette. “I can carry you easily, but I could also—”

One hand slid across his waist and the other wrapped under his knees, and then the ground disappeared beneath his feet. Adrien fell back against Marinette’s chest. He stared at her smug grin. It took him too long to realise she was holding him, almost cradling him.

“Um,” he said. His feet dangled in the air.

“You’re not the only strong one around here, Chat,” Marinette said. She looked a little winded, but she wasn’t struggling to hold him up.

This close up, he could see the freckles on the bridge of her nose. He could see how that smug smile lit up her eyes. He could feel the strain of her arms—and wow, okay, he really wasn’t the only person around here with muscles.

“Chat? Are you okay?”

“I’m the overwhelmed one, now.” Adrien looked her dead in the eye, and said, “You swept me off my feet, princess.”

Marinette dropped him. “Annnd the moment is gone.”

Adrien sprung back up, making grabby hands for her. She stepped out of the reach. “No! Carry me again.”

“Do you like being carried, Chat Noir?” Marinette teased. Adrien went quiet. Tellingly quiet. Marinette laughed. “You do.”

“I do not!”

“Does Ladybug know?”

“No—I mean, there’s nothing to know!”

She winked. That only made his spluttering worse. “I’ll keep your secret, Chat Noir.”

“Much obliged, princess,” Adrien said. His voice came out far weaker than he would’ve liked.

 

 

* * *

 

 

3.

 

It was a slow Sunday. Both Adrien’s civilian and superhero lives were quiet, since the dry spell of akumas had coincided with his father’s business trip abroad. Ladybug, left jumpy by Hawkmoth’s sudden silence, had proposed an afternoon patrol. Adrien was always happy to spend time with his lady.

They had already lapped the city once and were perched atop the Palais de Chaillot, watching the way the gentle spring sun shone on the Eiffel Tower. A group of busking musicians on the street below had drawn a crowd. A few couples swayed in a circle and a group of kids were dancing wildly in front of the band.

The music floated up to where they were seated. Ladybug watched them with a fond smile.

“It’s so easy to get caught up in the bad side of being Ladybug,” she said, “like the akumas and all the innocent people that are hurt by the fights. It’s easy to forget about moments like this. The city deserves peace.”

“Not just the city. You deserve peace, too.” Adrien jumped to his feet and extended a hand, sinking into a bow. “May I have this dance, my lady?”

Ladybug laughed and took his hand. He yanked her up and she stumbled into his chest.

He smirked down at her.“Sorry, Ladybug. I forget my own strength sometimes.”

“Oh, _really_ , kitty?”

Adrien knew that tone. It was that same slow and challenging tone that crept into her voice right before they broke into another race that lead them through several suburbs.

She stepped forward and Adrien was forced to step back. He twisted them around, trying to take the lead, but she wrestled control back from him. They whirled around the rooftop, laughing and stepping on each other’s toes, out of time with the steady song playing below them.

He could tell she hadn’t had the same rigorous ballroom lessons he had, but she was better than any dancing partner he had had before. Here, there were no steps to follow. No teacher to correct his posture. Just Ladybug, pulling him around the rooftop, swaying in time with him, her smile focussed entirely on him.

There was a shout on the street and they looked down. A group of dancers waved up at them. They’d been spotted.

“It seems we have an audience,” Adrien said. “Should we give them a show, my lady?”

“It’s our duty as heroes,” Ladybug said, smirking.

He slid a hand over her waist, ready to gently dip her, when she slipped out of his hold and ducked down to wrap her arms around his knees, and then Adrien was being hoisted into the air and Ladybug was spinning him around the rooftop, laughing. The people on the ground burst into applause.

Adrien had thought that nothing could beat watching a quiet Sunday unfold by Ladybug’s side, but this, being held in her arms, carried well above the Paris city and the cheering crowd of strangers, was so much better.

 

 

* * *

 

 

4.

 

Chloe huffed. “I know you’re suited to manual labour, but there’s no way you’re stronger than Kim.”

Kim had recently gotten over his crush on Chloe and could see the almost-compliment for what it was—a dig on their fellow classmate. He frowned at Chloe. “Marinette’s strong in her own right. Just … less strong than me.”

“I don’t know,” Marinette said. “Lifting all those barrels of hay sure have made me strong. _Manual labour_ does wonders for the arms, right, Chloe?”

“I think Ivan is probably the strongest,” Mylene interrupted.

“No, it’s definitely me,” Kim said.

Alix sniggered. “The only reason you’re so confident is because Ivan is sick today so he can’t prove that he’s stronger than you.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Kim said, nose in the air. “I’m definitely the strongest.”

“No way,” Alya said. “It’s Marinette. My girl proved it yesterday with that arm wrestling competition. Just because you’re a sore loser … ”

“I was having a bad arm day,” Kim defended, cradling his arm. “It was sore. From dodgeball.”

“Dodgeball,” Alya said, “which, may I remind everyone, Marinette destroyed you all in. She can bring it. She’s a monster.”

“She’s certainly something,” Chloe mumbled. Sabrina laughed beside her.

“Anything that happened yesterday doesn’t count, since my wrist was sore.” Kim crossed his arms over his chest. “If you say you’re stronger, than prove it, Marinette.”

“By doing what?” Marinette asked. “Arm wrestling you again, just so you can say you were having another bad day when I beat you?”

Marinette held her hand up, and like the good friend she was, Alya high-fived her. They missed the door opening and a new person joining them, fresh from lunch.

“I think she can do it,” Adrien spoke up. “Don’t underestimate her, Kim.”

The girls whirled around. Adrien dropped his bag in his seat, and made his way over to Marinette. Alya’s face lit up. Chloe’s darkened.

“I don’t know, dude,” Kim said.

“Do you want to prove him wrong?” Adrien asked Marinette. She nodded, her eyes huge. “Okay. Well, uh … if you don’t want to do another arm wrestle, why don’t you lift something big. Maybe something bigger than you?”

Kim looked around the classroom. The only heavy thing was the desk, too unwieldy to lift and with too many consequences if they broke it. “Like what?”

“Like him,” Alya jumped in, shoving Marinette towards Adrien.

“I bet she could lift me,” Adrien said. “Right, Marinette?”

Marinette stared up at him. “Me? Lift … lift you?”

Chloe scoffed. “She could never.”

Marinette’s expression hardened. Spite was a powerful creature, able to bypass things like embarrassment and teenage foot-in-mouth syndrome. Marinette bent down, wrapped her arms around Adrien’s knees, and hefted him over her shoulder.

Adrien’s feet left the ground, and he couldn’t help but yelp, already feeling all the blood rush to his cheeks. Their classmates whooped and clapped.

“Very cavemen of you, Marinette,” Alya said. Her phone was out and she was filming the entire thing. “You going to carry him off to your bedroom?”

Nino chose that moment to enter. He blinked at the sight they made—their class huddled in a semicircle around Marinette, her face schooled into a mask of fierce determination, carrying his very red best friend over her shoulder.

“Huh,” Nino said. “About time.”

“Nino!” Adrien said.

“What? Dude, you’ve been so oblivious.”

“Unfortunately, Mari’s just proving that she’s stronger than Kim,” Alya said.

Kim scoffed. “This doesn’t count, either. It’s Adrien. He’s light as hell.”

Marinette set Adrien down on his feet, frowning up at him. “He is light, you’re right. Adrien, are you eating enough?”

Adrien blinked down at Marinette. She was still in his personal space, the two of them pressed almost chest-to-chest. “Um. Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes?”

“You should carry him home,” Alya said. They both turned to look at her, flushing matching shades of red. Alya rolled her eyes at them. “Because Marinette lives in a bakery and can feed Adrien?”

“Right,” Marinette said.

Adrien looked to her. “You mean you will? Carry me home, that is?”

“I—I didn’t say that. Not that I wouldn’t want to do that. I mean, you’re very carry-able. I mean, you’re light, and I can clearly lift you, not that you would even like that at all, you’d probably hate that, I just mean—”

“I wouldn’t hate that,” Adrien said. “I liked being carried by you.”

Everyone went quiet. Marinette looked as if she’d died and been brought back to life simultaneously. If possible, Adrien went even redder. “I just—I mean—”

“Oh, for Christ’s sake,” Chloe said.

“Okay, strength test over,” Alix said. “This is getting mushy and gross.”

Everyone shuffled back to their seats.

Alya patted Marinette on the back. “It’s okay, girl. I got clear footage of Adrien saying he likes you carrying him. I’ll send it to you.”

“Thank you,” Marinette said weakly, already blocking out the afternoon to re-watch that video over and over again.

In the seat in front of them, Adrien laid his head on the desk while Nino laughed.

 

* * *

 

 

5.

 

The akuma wasn’t supposed to be this difficult, but Adrien had been distracted all day. His father had come home early in the morning in a foul mood. Of course an akuma had to spring up just as Adrien’s life was kicking back into high gear with his father’s re-appearance.

The Watcher, a failing watch-maker, had kicked away his baton and it had fallen off of the floating platform made of burnish cogs and springs, disappearing somewhere in Paris far below them. Soon after, Adrien had been pinned beneath a giant, ticking cog.

“Ladybug,” Adrien called, thrashing under its weight. He was reaching for Cataclysm’s power as the cog ticked over and crushed his leg in a squeal of metal against metal. Adrien’s mind blanked out. He could feel the pain in his teeth. He was sure he heard something cracked.

He brought his hand down and the cog was reduced to rusted ash. The Watcher titled the platform and Adrien slid sideways and tumbled over the edge. Without his baton, there was nothing to stop his descent.

Nothing but Ladybug.

She caught him roughly in mid-air. His ribs collided with her sharp shoulder, knocking the breath right out of him, but she didn’t stop—she carried him through the streets in a fireman carry until they were out of the Watcher’s sight.

When they were safe, she pulled him off her shoulder and into a bridal carry as she jogged along the rooftops.

“I heard you shout,” she said. “Are you okay?”

Adrien gritted his teeth, shaking his head. “I got stuck under one of the cogs. I think my foot is broken.”

Her grip on him tightened. He rested his cheek on her shoulder and didn’t move when her hair brushed against his throat, even though it tickled.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “I should have been there—”

“I shouldn’t have gotten caught like that. I should’ve been quicker to use Cataclysm.”

Ladybug jumped over a tall chimney, accidentally jerking him around. Pain ricocheted up his leg. He cried out, clutching at his thigh.

“Chat!”

“I’m okay,” he choked out, even though he was sure he was crying. He hated crying in front of people. This was Ladybug, his partner, his hero, who wouldn’t look down on him for crying, but he wanted to be strong for her.

She put him down when they were far away from the akuma. She moved slowly, almost reverently, like he was a fragile thing she was terrified of breaking.

It was quiet here, in the secluded shade behind a green house. Beneath him, the concrete was cold to the touch.

“Oh, Chat,” Ladybug murmured, hands hovering over his foot. His boot obscured most of the damage, but the angle of his ankle was wrong Instead of a straight line from calf to foot, his foot jutted to one side like a snapped tree branch. “It’s definitely broken. Maybe shattered.”

“I won’t let Hawkmoth shatter my dreams,” Adrien said, leaning back against the misted glass of the green house. It was cold, too. Or maybe Adrien was just overheated. “I have a bone to pick with him.”

His jokes were disjointed, but Ladybug didn’t call him on it. She stared down at his lopsided foot. Her mouth was pursed. Her hands bunched into fists on her knees.

“Ladybug?”

“He hurt you,” she said tightly.

He reached out clumsily. She met him halfway. Their hands tangled together, gripping each other.

“I have to go,” she said after a moment.

Adrien wanted to pull her down beside him and curl up against her again. He wanted her to scoop him back up and carry him somewhere else, away from this shadowy roof that stank of damp moss. He wanted her to pat his hair. He wanted her to keeping holding his hand like this, watching him with that careful stare.

He didn’t want her to go.

“Don’t beat him up too badly,” Adrien said instead, dredging up a smile.

She didn’t return his smile. It wasn’t often she got really angry like this—properly angry, rather than frustrated, or vindictive, or scared. It only happened when the akumas seriously hurt people.

“No promises.” She slid her hand out of his. “I’ll be quick. Promise.”

“I’ll stay here,” he said, even though it was obvious he wasn’t going anywhere.

With a quick glance over her shoulder, she ran across the rooftops back to the akuma. He lost sight of her as she jumped over a satellite dish.

And then it was quiet.

Adrien considered ending his transformation so he could talk to Plagg. But he didn’t know what condition his leg would be in. He didn’t know much about injuries—and maybe he should start researching if Hawkmoth was going to keep hurting him like this—but he thought shards of bone could pierce through skin and bleed out. He couldn’t tell if his foot was wet through the pain, but he didn’t want to chance it. The impenetrable suit often kept the blood suctioned to the wound.

He needed to stop thinking about bone shards or he was going to drive himself crazy.

He could barely hear the akuma fight, now. Ladybug must have carried him clear out of the akuma’s range. They often held onto one another as they travelled around the city, and they caught each other during fights when they were thrown around, but properly carrying one another? They didn’t do that very often.

Ladybug had carried him like it was nothing. Like he didn’t weigh anything at all. It reminded him of when she had rescued his civilian self—the same firm hold, the same hot brush of skin.

Marinette had carried him, too. Once as Chat Noir and then again as Adrien Agreste. Adrien remembered her grin, the flex of her muscles, the feel of her against him. It was an almost familiar grin. An almost familiar hold. It had been nice. Ladybug and Marinette were both so nice. Adrien was lucky to know them.

 

* * *

 

 

6.

 

“That akuma really left us hanging,” Adrien said. Ladybug’s arm was around his waist, the other holding onto the yo-yo that kept them suspending 50 feet in the air. His arms were looped around her neck. Both of their legs dangled freely.

It would have been easy for Ladybug to reel them back up, but the yo-yo was frozen to the ceiling far atop their heads. The walls were slick with ice, and the ground was full of jagged debris. There was no where solid for Adrien to angle his baton.

Usually, fighting in abandoned buildings was easy. Once any squatters were clear, they could do as much damage as they wanted without worrying about civilians getting caught up in the fight. But this building was tall and the floors were rotted through. The akuma had taken out most of the wood panelling, leaving the building a metal skeleton. There was nothing between them and the floor but support beams that were thickly iced over.

“Akumas really bring us together,” Adrien said against her shoulder.

“Are you thanking the akuma? For leaving us like this?” Ladybug said.

“We don’t get to spend enough time together! This is kind of nice. Admit it—this is a little nice.”

“Chat,” Ladybug said, and then stopped. “Okay. Fine. I miss you a little bit sometimes.”

Adrien beamed. Her words made him feel like he was at the top of the world, rather than moments from a long fall and then a short stop.

Adrien’s ring beeped, sharply cutting through his happiness.

“How many are you down to?” Ladybug asked.

Adrien grimaced. “That’s the last one.”

His ring began beeping again and didn’t stop. Ladybug squeezed her eyes shut, her face turned into her shoulder. “We can get through this. I just won’t look.”

“You’re going to do this blind?”

“You can be my eyes.”

Adrien’s transformation released and he was left in jeans with his normal human strength. He scrambled to maintain his hold on Ladybug. Her grip tightened, pulling their bodies closer together.

Plagg floated into the air, whistling at the damage of the building. “Damn, kid. You really got yourself into a mess this time, didn’t you?”

Ladybug jerked beneath him. Her eyes were still closed. “Who—?”

“My kwami,” Adrien said. She relaxed. “Plagg, how do we get out of here?”

Although Ladybug couldn’t see it, Plagg was studying Ladybug and frowning. But he directed his answer at Adrien. “I don’t fight your battles. I provide the magic. You provide the cheese. Speaking of … ”

“I don’t have cheese,” Adrien said. Plagg groaned.

“I can’t use lucky charm,” Ladybug said. “Not without my yo-yo. Any ideas?”

Plagg looked at Ladybug and then smirked at Adrien. “You know, I haven’t met this generation’s Ladybug, but my boy is always talking about you. He won’t shut up about you, in fact. He spends all his free time on that Ladyblog—”

Adrien knew where this was going. “Plagg.”

“—going all pink while staring at your photos, and staring dramatically out of his window, and _sighing_ —”

“Plagg!”

“There’s so much sighing. So much.”

Ladybug had gone pink, too. She cleared her throat. “That’s not helpful. We have to get out of here so we can fight the akuma.”

Something cracked high above their heads.

Adrien craned his head back. The ice on the ceiling was crumbling. Thick cracks spidered out from where the yo-yo was embedded in the ice.

“Is it bad?” Ladybug asked, eyes still closed.

Before Adrien could answer, the ice cracked again. The yo-yo broke free of the ice and then they were falling.

Ladybug’s eyes flew open. She reeled her yo-yo back in, yanked Adrien out of the air, and threw the yo-yo at one of the metal support beams. They jerked to a stop metres above the spiky ground.

Her suit absorbed the abrupt stop, but Adrien’s back would be bruised tomorrow. He was fine, though. Nothing was broken. He didn’t become the French Gwen Stacy.

“That wasn’t so bad,” Plagg said without concern, like they had stumbled on uneven asphalt rather than fallen several storeys.

Ladybug looked down at Adrien, held tightly in her arm, and shrieked. She almost dropped him. Only his arms clinging to her neck and her fast reflexes stopped him from plummeting the rest of the way down.

“Hi,” Adrien said when she stopped screaming. “Um. Surprise?”

“Adrien?” Ladybug’s face was ashen. “Adrien Agreste?”

“That’s me.” He shifted in her arms. It was so longer so comfortable. She was freaking out—he’d always known she wouldn’t be calm in the event of an identity reveal, not because of who he was, but because of how closely she guarded their identities—but now, watching her panic an inch away from his face, he didn’t feel so good. Something twisted in his stomach. “Are you upset? Are you … are you disappointed that I’m Chat Noir?”  
“Disappointed,” she echoed, and then shook her head like a dog shaking off water. “No! No, no. I’m not disappointed. I’m shocked. I can’t believe—Chat and Adrien are so different.”

“I don’t have the freedom of the mask when I’m Adrien. I have expectations, but when I’m Chat, I can do whatever I want. I can be a hero. I can be around you.” He watched her from beneath his eyelashes. “Are you okay?”

Her face softened. She stopped panicking. The fear was still there, but there was something else. Something he didn’t understand. She pulled him even closer, her arm tight around his waist. His forehead bumped against hers.

“Sorry,” she said. “I’m in shock, I think.”

“You didn’t want this to happen.”

“No, I didn’t, but I’m not angry. I don’t hate you.” Her cheeks went pink. “I’m nervous, I guess. Uh. That is.”

“I’m still the person I always was. I’m still your kitty.”

Her face went even redder and she spluttered. Plagg looked at the pair of them, and said, with feeling, “There’s two of them! Cursed teenage hormones.”

Adrien and Ladybug looked at him. “What?”

Plagg ignored them.. “Are you two going to stay dangling like that all day?”

Ladybug shook herself and gently lowered them to the ground. When they were close enough, she pushed off a jagged icicle and manoeuvred them onto a clear patch of floor.

They were quiet. Adrien wet his lips. “You know now. Is this going to change things?”

“It … it doesn’t have to?” It sounded like a question.

“What if we want it to change?”

Ladybug looked conflicted. She looked down at her yo-yo. “Chat, you know why we shouldn’t—”

Adrien’s shoulders slumped. “Right.”

The hollowed out building was almost silent. Ice cracked as the icicles melted around them and there was the echo of a terrified city in the distance. Adrien needed to feed Plagg and transform. They didn’t have time for this. _He_ didn’t have time for this—for the conflicted look on Ladybug’s face and the sudden feeling of shame that came with standing in front of Ladybug without his mask and have her stare at him with that unreadable expression.

“Ladybug?” Adrien asked. He felt naked.

“I—” Ladybug began, before cutting herself off.

Plagg floated around Adrien and landed on her shoulder. “C’mon, kid, don’t be dumb. Look at him. You accidentally found out his identity and now you’re just standing there, all choked up. How do you think that makes him feel?”

Hearing Plagg talk to someone else like that was strange, but it seemed to work for Ladybug. She shook her head to clear it.

“Adrien,” she said slowly, like she was testing the way his name felt in her mouth.

Fear clutched at his belly. He started talking before he could think about his words. “I know you didn’t want this. If you want, you can ignore me when I’m Adrien Agreste. You can pretend you never saw my face without the mask and—”

“Do you want that?” Ladybug said. “Do you want me to ignore Adrien Agreste?”

Adrien closed his mouth with a click of teeth. He thought about Ladybug ignoring him. What would that look like? Would her gaze slip over him like he was a stranger in a crowded room, or would she look like Father, turned away from him with a cold tilt of her chin, her sharp voice speaking over hime like he wasn’t even there, like he was an object, a fulfilled role more than a person?

If there was one thing he hated above all else, it was being ignored.

“Adrien?” she coaxed. “Chat?”

“No.” His voice cracked. “No. I don’t think I could survive that.”

She drew in a deep breath. “Okay. Okay, then.”

“Ladybug?”

“Tikki, spots off.”

 

 

* * *

 

 

+1

 

The car slowed down as it pulled up to the school. Adrien opened the door and ran out before the Gorilla had come to a complete stop. He didn’t see Chloe marching over to talk to him, or Nino raising a hand in greeting, or the Gorilla glaring at his recklessness through the tinted window. Adrien only had eyes for Marinette.

She had been talking with Alya at the top of the stairs and noticed him immediately. They broke into a run at the same time. She jumped down the last five steps and Adrien caught her and whirled her around, and it felt like they’d done this a dozen times before, because they had, because they had carried each other over city streets and up towering buildings and through violent akuma battles. Marinette’s sweet laughter made Adrien feel weightless and impossibly strong at the same time.

“Marinette!”

Adrien opened his eyes. When had he closed them?

Alya stood in front of them, arms crossed. Nino and a cluster of their classmates, including a speechless Chloe, were hovering behind her.

Marinette blinked at them from her place in Adrien’s arms. “What’s wrong, Alya?”

“What’s wrong? _What’s wrong?_ ” Alya gestured at the two of them. “When did this happen?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” Marinette said. She tucked her face into Adrien’s neck, which made Chloe splutter and made Adrien beam so widely that his cheeks hurt.

“Girl,” Alya said in a low voice that promised a world of trouble for them later. “When.”

“Later, Alya,” Marinette said against Adrien’s skin. He couldn’t hide his shiver.

“Oh, my god,” Nino said.

“We’re going to be late for class,” Marinette said.

“Sorry, everyone,” Adrien said, “but the lady is right. We will see you all later.”

Adrien side-stepped their classmates and made his way up the school steps, Marinette still cradled in his arms. It was harder to carry her when he wasn’t transformed, but the way she kept giggling into her neck and the feel of her arms around his shoulders made him feel like he could do anything.

Marinette cheekily waved at Alya over his shoulder before they disappeared through the school’s double doors, laughing again at Alya’s spluttered calls. Adrien ignored the way everyone stared at them. He carried her through the school, up the stairs to their classroom, and only put her down when they arrived at her seat.

He felt disappointed to have to let her go. Marinette’s hands lingered on his shoulders and Adrien’s heart skipped a beat as he realised she was disappointed, too.

“We’ll have to do this again tomorrow, my lady,” Adrien said.

“No, kitty,” Marinette said, tapping his collarbone, right where his bell would normally sit, “tomorrow, I’m carrying you to class.”

Adrien was very okay with that.

 

**Author's Note:**

> In regards to Adrien’s injury: I know the suits have magical protections, but I’ve always thought that only extends so far. That blow could have taken his foot off. Instead, it shattered the bone. Also: I’m a shameless hurt/comfort fan.
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> [My tumblr](http://captainkirkk.tumblr.com/).

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[podfic] It's a long way forward so trust in me](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15537852) by [Annapods](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Annapods/pseuds/Annapods)




End file.
